Many thanks for having me here today so I can share a little bit
about my journey to publication xx

I live in Northern Ireland with
my husband and two boys but my dream was always to be an author. Over the years
I’d had a few articles and short stories published but I only started to write
seriously after my mum died in 2008 at the age of fifty-three. It was then I
figured life was too short not to chase that dream. I met my online crit group
and started learning my craft.

I always wanted to be a writer and was
sneaking my Mum & Gran's Harlequin Mills & Boon books to read
throughout my teenage and started entering their writing competitions. Since I
have lupus and my boys have Phenylketonuria, a metabolic disorder, and we spend
half of our lives at the hospital, Medical Romance seemed the ideal fit for me.

After a few years of trying I received a full request
for a manuscript I’d been working on. I was waiting to hear back on that last
year when the So You Think You Can Write competition began. I had a couple of
chapters of a story I’d abandoned previously but with a little coaxing from
some others, I entered.

I never dreamed my story would make it to
the top ten in SYTYCW but it did. All I wanted to gain from the competition was
to get to work with the fabulous editors who could point me in the right
direction, so I wasn’t disappointed when I didn’t win. I was over the moon when
my editor phoned to discuss revisions I could do to improve my manuscript and
speechless when she ended the conversation by saying she wanted to offer me a
book deal.

I’ve just had book three accepted and I’m
amazed at how far I’ve come in twelve months. Finally being able to hold my
book in my hands is my dream come true.

French Fling to Forever

For ex ugly duckling Lola
Roberts, childhood bullies have left their mark. Old insecurities make her
self-conscious about starting her new career as a doctor. Burlesque class seems
a fun way to boost her confidence but she doesn’t count on the sexy, French,
head of her department walking in on her, mid booty-shake. Having sworn not to
let another arrogant male make her feel small again, Mr Ego of the Year is the
sort of good-looking man she knows she should avoid. Except she can’t help
getting involved when she suspects his young niece is being bullied at school.

A pink princess is the last
thing Doctor Henri Benoit needs working on his ward. Committed to repaying the
debt he owes to the sister who raised him, he doesn’t appreciate any disruption
to his carefully structured guilt trip. With Lola’s distinctly feminine
presence and that image of her dirty cowgirl routine forever branded on his brain,
she’s distracting to say the least. Now she’s part of his personal life as well
as working alongside him in the pressure cooker of A&E, it isn’t long
before attraction between them boils over into a night of passion. When her six
week placement comes to an end it isn’t as easy as they thought it would be to
walk away.

Congratulations on your book deal, Karin! It's always so good to hear about an aspiring writer's dreams coming true. I'm sorry about the illnesses in your family, but your experiences probably enabled you to inject a realistic feel into your medical romances. (My fave!)